


You Have Her Smile

by LadybugSin



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Age Difference, Aged-Up Character(s), Angst, F/M, I'm shouting 'sin' as I write this, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Mrs. Agreste was definitely the peacock miraculous holder for this!, Reformed Villain, lots and lots of angst, or else half this fic wouldn't make sense, post-identity reveal, with some Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-16
Updated: 2016-05-16
Packaged: 2018-06-08 19:53:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6871165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadybugSin/pseuds/LadybugSin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Agreste estate seems gloomier than usual, and Marinette intends to find out why. Except. . . She can't find Gabriel anywhere.</p>
            </blockquote>





	You Have Her Smile

**Author's Note:**

> I needed to write angst, guys. I literally needed to write angst and involve my ship. Oh god, I'm just nervous about posting this in general, because I have never written for Miraculous Ladybug before, haha.

It was quiet when she entered the estate, unnervingly so at that. In all her time coming here, may it have been when she was still sneaking around and keeping a certain relationship a secret or when she could come and go freely with the press knowing she was Gabriel’s apprentice, it had never once seemed this gloomy. So why was it that today of all days, the atmosphere seemed heavier, like some sort of weight pressing down against her shoulders.

Even with the sunlight coming in through the windows throughout the estate, there seemed to be a shadow over everything. The flowers looked like they could wilt at any moment, any photographs or paintings she walked by appeared to be dull and lifeless. Almost like there was no heart, no soul, to be found in them. Honestly, it made Marinette feel like she was intruding here. She never felt like this before, not once!

So why was everything different today?

“Gabriel? Gabriel, I’m here!” She went into the studio first, thinking that maybe he would be working on some new designs for the most recent line they had been working on. Except, the studio was empty, fabric tossed about in places she knew they had been the last time she was in here, mannequins still dressed in half-finished gowns and suits. But there was nothing that gave even a hint to the fashion designer coming through here.

She decided to not linger, already turning around and making her way straight for the office. If the studio was lacking in fashion designers, then perhaps the office was home to one as he made a few choice calls about the future shows or press events.

Marinette didn’t even bother to knock when she reached the office, stepping inside with a grin, already expecting to see Gabriel sitting at the desk or pacing around while on the phone, talking to whoever was on the other line about who knows what.

Silence greeted her instead, the office seeming even gloomier than the rest of the house. Marinette risked a glance at the painting of Mrs. Agreste, as if that could hold the answer to where Gabriel was. She was shocked to see that the painting lacked its usual glow, how life-like eyes now seemed clouded over and, dare she say it? Dead. The painting looked _dead_. But that was a silly thought, wasn’t it? A painting couldn’t look dead, and she had no right to think that about Gabriel’s former wife in the first place.

The thought was still in her mind as she raced from the office though, feet carrying her along the familiar path to Gabriel’s bedroom. Maybe he had just slept in. Maybe he didn’t have any desperately important things to attend to and actually decided to sleep in today.

The bed was perfectly made when she opened the bedroom door. There wasn’t even a hint that the man had been in here at all, but that was normal.

Where? Where could he be? Certainly not hiding away (hiding from her?) in a house that wasn’t as bright as it normally was.

Marinette had just stepped out of the room when she noticed Nathalie in the hallway, eyes staring right at her. She felt a bit exposed, being seen exiting Gabriel’s room like it was completely normal. But Nathalie knew at least the basics of Marinette’s relationship with Gabriel, and didn’t once bother to even question it once she had been told about just why Miss Dupain-Cheng was making visits far more frequent than an apprentice should be making.

“He’s not here,” Marinette suddenly said, pushing herself away from the door. “I checked the studio, the office, his . . . His room. But he isn’t anywhere, and he knows I was coming by to work on the designs.”

The older woman sighed, adjusting her glasses before giving a futile glance at the ever present tablet in her grasp. “And here I was thinking you had just woken up and found him not in bed.”

Marinette’s face burned at the claim, her gaze immediately trying to land on anything that wasn’t Nathalie. She could detect the mocking tone even from here, but still couldn’t fully register _why_ half of the time they would speak to each other, Nathalie would use such a tone towards her. And only when they were alone, too.

“I-I . . . I got here not that long ago! I’ve been looking in all the usual places Gabriel might be and . . . Nathalie, the estate seems . . . Wrong, somehow. Very, _very_ wrong.” Akuma levels of wrong, but, Gabriel had been working on not creating akumas, on not being the villain that some in Paris still believed Papillon was. “Nathalie, where is he? I saw you look at the tablet and you and I both know that no one is scheduled for anything today. No one is ever scheduled on this day, I’ve known this for the entire two years I’ve been coming around!”

Two years she had known that both Agreste men never did anything today. Adrien was never seen at photoshoots, Gabriel wasn’t taking any interviews, nothing ever happened. For two years, Marinette never had been around the estate on this day, either because she still had to be careful about the press cornering her and questioning if she was more than an apprentice, or because she merely didn’t have to come by that day.

She had told Gabriel she would be stopping by to work on the designs. He had to have heard her, right?

Nathalie almost unlocked the tablet, and Marinette could see the gears turning in the woman’s head as she attempted to come up with some sort of excuse, a last ditch effort to claim that Gabriel was scheduled for something today. But the glare from Marinette made her reconsider her plans.

“He’s in the estate. I’m not sure where he goes, exactly. Adrien might, since-“

“Since what? What is it about this day that keeps both of them locked up inside?! It doesn’t make sense, it doesn’t-“

“Today is the anniversary of Mrs. Agreste’s passing. Surely you knew this. After all, you had been sharing a bed with Mr. Agreste for the past two years, as well as been his apprentice for about the same amount of time, give or take a few months.” Did she sound . . . bitter? One day she would confront the woman about this, but . . .

Had she really been that blind? Marinette knew that Gabriel’s wife had passed away, had even gotten a slight idea as to why. Something happened in Tibet when Mrs. Agreste went there to collect something, something related to the miraculous stones. All that had come back was an old book and a peacock pin – Mrs. Agreste’s miraculous. It was why Gabriel was Papillon, why he had been trying to get her earrings and Adrien’s ring this entire time.

Was this . . . why the painting of Mrs. Agreste seemed dead?

“Miss Dupain-Cheng.”

Nathalie’s slightly irked voice snapped Marinette out of her thoughts, bringing her back to the current situation. It was the anniversary of Mrs. Agreste’s death and Gabriel was off somewhere . . . what? Remembering her? Mourning her?

“If you so desperately wish to find Mr. Agreste, then perhaps talking to Adrien will help. He might have a better idea for where his father is. You’ll find him in his room, most likely.”

“I . . . Thank you, Nathalie!”

And with that, Marinette took off sprinting down the hall and in the direction of Adrien’s room, not once looking back to see the older woman shake her head.

***

She didn’t barge into his room like she thought she would, instead hovering her closed hand before the door, ready to knock. What was she supposed to say to him though? She was feeling even more unwelcome than before, now that she knew exactly why everything seemed gloomy. This wasn’t her place, not today. This wasn’t her day to be here.

Marinette sucked in a breath, forcing herself to knock on the door.

Adrien opened it after a few agonizing moments, shock obvious on his face. “Mari? What are you doing here?”

“Adrien, where’s Gabriel? I’ve been trying to find him since I got here, I didn’t even think about what today was! I just . . . I’m already here and I’m not too comfortable working in the studio and not knowing how he is.”

Adrien blinked, staring at his friend in silence. Clearly this was not what he had been expecting. Actually, no, he hadn’t been expecting anything to happen on a day with nothing scheduled. He hadn’t even counted on Marinette coming over at some point for whatever reason she probably had to explain her presence here.

He certainly hadn’t expected her to come over and wonder where the hell his father was, that was for sure.

“He um . . . Marinette, today might not be a good day . . .”

“Because of your mom, I know. Nathalie sort of reminded me. And I just . . . I-I get it, I do, you both do your own things on this day, and I’m obviously intruding, but I just . . . Adrien, I want to make sure he’s okay before I go home.”

 _Before I go home_ . . . She didn’t even intend to stay the whole day like originally planned, not now, not when she knew.

“I don’t go there, but . . . I know where Dad is. He . . . On the opposite side of the estate is a bedroom. _Their_ bedroom. He should be in there. That’s normally where he is today.”

 _I can’t_ , she wanted to say. _I can’t go in there, I can’t intrude on him_. But Marinette instead moved forward, wrapping her arms tightly around Adrien. It took him a moment, but he was hugging her back tightly, and she could feel him tremble ever so slightly with the desire to cry.

“I’m so sorry.”

***

She took her time going to the other side of the estate. It was almost like heading towards Gabriel’s bedroom on any other day, only with an extra turn thrown into the mix. Each step taken towards the old bedroom felt worse and worse, like she was entering the territory of some wild thing that could rip into her for daring to trespass.

In and out. That was her plan. In and out.

All too soon she was at the door, the same hesitance she felt earlier when she was in front of Adrien’s door returning. Only now she wanted to also turn tail and run, run back to her house and hole herself up in her room for even thinking of this.

_I can’t do this. I can’t do this, not even my luck could possibly be on my side today!_

Fate was against her though, her hand moving to knock before even risking opening the door. She wasn’t prompted to come inside, she should be running away!

Gabriel sat on the edge of the bed, not looking in her direction, his attention only on the photograph in his hands. Marinette was certain that if he was to look at her, he would be looking through her instead of at her.

“Gabriel . . . I-I just came by to see if you’re alright, a-and I should have considered what today is, wh-what it would mean to you, and-“

“You have her smile.”

His voice shocked her mid ramble, eyes widening when she realized just what he had said. She . . . She had her smile? Hadn’t Adrien said that once?

Without even thinking, one of her hands moved up to cover her mouth, as if that would end any sort of resemblance she somehow shared with Mrs. Agreste.

“E-excuse me?”

“The two of you have the same smile. See?” Gabriel motioned for her to come closer, holding the photograph out for her to see. Marinette’s movements seemed sluggish as she actually walked over to the bed, hesitantly sitting down beside him as she looked at the picture.

It was of Gabriel and his wife, the biggest smiles she had ever seen upon their features. A smile Marinette only sometimes saw on Gabriel.

“She’s beautiful.”

“She was. Beautiful, and kind, and almost always knowing how to cheer someone up. And as the Peacock, she was brave and more than happy to do what she could to keep people safe.” He looked at Marinette then, a weak smile on his face.

“. . . Can um . . . C-can you tell me about her?”

“Of course, my _petite papillon_. Of course.”

He moved to wrap his arm around her then, both of their gazes fixed on the photograph (and occasionally drifting away to meet each other’s gaze) as he began to recall to her story after story about Mrs. Agreste, most of them including some of the things she had done as a miraculous holder.

It was a break in his usual routine for how this day went, but the weight of Marinette’s small frame pressed against his side as he spoke reminded Gabriel of what he had now, and what he would have for years to come.


End file.
